I Could Never Forget You
by igotsoulbutimnotasoldier
Summary: He spent his whole lifetime loving her, waiting for her to love him back. One shot.


**Author's note : All characters belong to Ryan Murphy and Fox. Hope you guys enjoy it! Reviews & comments are welcomed. **

He first sees her in kindergarten.

She's the new girl, looking all pretty in pink, hair neatly tied into pigtails while his shirt is covered in dust and dirt after he fell from the monkey bars. He doesn't like girls, them being all prim and proper and scared of everything. He especially enjoys scaring them by showing them bugs because he thinks it's funny hearing them shriek and scream.

Therefore it makes sense that he expects the same of her ; to yell at him when he shows her a spider he found lurking by the side of the sandbox. He expects her to scream or run away just like all the other girls.

What he didn't expect was for her to inspect the spider and ask for its name.

'Err…I dunno. It's just a spider. ' he replies gruffly.

'You should call it Stan. Stan the spider.' she suggests.

'Okay.' He shrugs and puts the spider on the floor and they watch as it scurries off. She begins to walk away when he calls out to her.

'What's your name?'

'Quinn.'

'I'm Puck.'

As he watched her retreating form, he knew there was something different about this Quinn. But unperturbed, he continues to look for more bugs to scare the other girls especially Rachel who was scared of everything.

* * *

><p>In second grade, they have to write Valentine Day cards to at least one person in their class. Their teacher said they could write it to their best friends but there was no way that Puck was going to write a sissy Valentine day card to Finn. Instead, he decides he would write one to her. He was sure she would get a whole lot of cards but his was going to be special.<p>

Since everyone used red paper, he uses blue (his favourite colour). After folding it into a heart shape, he writes on it.

_Quinn,_

_Hapy Velentines Day._

_Puck._

After drawing a few awesome spaceships on it, he went to her desk. She was already holding 2 other cards. He cleares his throat.

'Umm, hi Quinn.'

'Hi Puck.'

'Ummm…this is for you.' He says as he hurridly thrust it to her. He was nervous but his dad told him he had to be the man of the house before he left for his band tour. And being the man of the house meant that he had to be brave and strong and not scared of anything, just like his dad.

She takes it, grinning at him. 'Thanks. I like the colour and the spaceships look cool.'

He grins back and dashes back to his seat.

The next day, there was a card on his desk. It was pink, with glitter around the edges and a flower drawn on it.

_To Puck_

_Happy Valentines' Day._

_Love, Quinn_

He smiles widely before realizing that Finn was staring at him. This causes him to promptly scowl at his best friend.

'Who's that from?' asks Finn.

'None of your business.'

* * *

><p>In 6th grade, he is invited to her birthday party. He is worried though, money was short and he has not gotten her a present yet. He doesn't tell his mum, she was too busy working and taking care of Sara.<p>

He casually asks Finn what he got her.

'I got her a notebook with Cinderella on it. I think that's what girls like, right?' Finn replies. 'Anyway, what are you getting her?'

'It's a secret.'

The day of the party, Noah Puckerman shows up to the Fabrays with a bunch of flowers. He sees Finn and Santana giving her nicely wrapped presents and he feels a bit embarrassed. Nevertheless, he walks right up to Quinn and hands her the flowers.

'Happy Birthday Quinn.' He watches her face closely for any signs of disappointment.

She takes the flowers from him and smiles.

'Thanks Puck. These flowers are really pretty.'

Later, she tells him that his present is her favourite. She likes them better than any silly princess notebook.

That alone makes it worth it when his mum grounds him for cutting up their neighbours' prized roses.

* * *

><p>The funny thing about high school is that people change to fit in.<p>

She joins the cheerleading squad. Pretty and smart, she soon becomes one of the most popular girls in high school. He's in the football team, along with Finn. He becomes known as a bully, the kid who would throw other kids into the dumpster, the one who wouldn't hesitate to slushy other kids he deemed losers.

Together, they rise to the top of the hierarchy at McKinley.

Puck doesn't know how to feel when Finn declares he was going to ask her out.

He doesn't know what to feel when he saw them kissing in front of Finn's locker.

He doesn't know what to feel when he sleeps with many nameless girls to fill the ache.

He doesn't know how to feel when he sees her caller id flash on his phone on that fateful night.

When they are done, she whispers to him.

'Don't tell.'

He answers softly. 'I won't.'

* * *

><p>She's pregnant.<p>

He's the dad.

He's willing to step up, to be the guy his father never was. She doesn't let him.

It hurts when she lies to Finn and tells him he was the dad instead.

It hurts when everyone sympathizes with Finn, not him.

It hurts when she called him a Lima Loser. It outrages him that that is how she views him. He doesn't care how the rest of the world looks at him, she of all people should know he's not a deadbeat loser.

So, he proves it to her.

He acts more responsible. Tries to raise money for his kid through his own methods. He does what he can to make her look at him in a different light.

When she calls him special and romantic, it's just like the day he gave her flowers in 6th grade. He feels like nothing matters when he's with her, that he still has a chance to redeem himself in her eyes.

That feeling washes away a little when she is whisked away by Finn in his dumb wheelchair.

But it was still there.

* * *

><p>To be honest, he feels relieved when Finn finds out the truth.<p>

He thinks this is his chance, to have a family with her, to be her rock.

But no matter what, he respects her.

So when she tells him she is going to do it by herself, that she wants to do it alone, he lets her.

He helps in whatever way he can.

She lives in his house now.

They're not a couple but they sure act like one.

He gets a part time job besides his pool cleaning business to help with the medical bills.

He defends her when those idiots in school make inappropriate comments at her.

He makes sure she's nice and comfortable at night.

He doesn't grumble when she sends him on trips to the nearby store to satisfy her latest craving.

But occasionally he does trip up, goes back to his old ways. He makes a few stupid mistakes here and there.

When she finds out, she yells at him. He shouts back. They fight a lot.

When all is said and done, they usually make up. They'll just sit there and watch tv, old reruns of sappy love comedies that she loves but he loathes, but he lets her get away with it because he loves her.

Even though she doesn't tell him she loves him, he feels it when they're in bed at night. She doesn't actually do anything, but when she's cold and a blanket doesn't help much, she lets him to cuddle her to sleep.

And every night, as she sleeps, he would whisper to her the three words that he hopes she would one day say to him.

* * *

><p>He wants her to keep it.<p>

She doesn't.

They've been arguing about this for a couple of weeks now.

He sees her point, they're way too young and both have got futures ahead of them. They have no financial stability. She's firm in her stance.

He knows her argument is valid, their kid is going to have a much better future with parents who have stable jobs and a big house and he definitely wants the best for his kid so he agrees.

He doesn't think about it though because it's too hard to bear. Imagining their kid with some stranger, not being there to hold her hand when she crosses the street, not hearing her call him daddy. He doesn't know how she can bear it. She's so tough.

But on some nights, when he gets home late from his job, he catches her in a tender moment with the baby. She would be stroking her belly while softly speaking to it. He's tried to catch what she's saying but so far he's only managed to hear a sentence.

'I love you more than you'll ever know.'

That alone is enough to melt him.

* * *

><p>He thinks he's one of the toughest dudes he knows but witnessing the birth was one of the most horrifying things ever.<p>

Between her screams at him and him making the bad choice to agree to view what was going on underneath the sheets, he was freaking out.

But when he watches her cradling his daughter, _their_ daughter for the very first time, it's all worth it. Worth everything they went through within the past nine months.

Beth is perfect. He can't believe that both of them, with so many flaws and hurts had created someone who was so pure and beautiful.

After everyone has left and he's the only one left in her room, she suggest they take a walk to see Beth again.

They're both silent as they look through the glass where their baby girl was. He asks her once more, the question they've been arguing about for so long.

'Do you want to keep her?'

She's silent before she replies him.

'No, do you?'

He doesn't even have to answer her , she knows what he's thinking.

That's when she asks him, for the first time since that fateful night.

'Did you love me?'

She's not looking at him, afraid of what he's going to say.

He looks at her and sees her for all that she is. Not the Queen Bee that rules McKinley High, not the perfect daughter that her parents wanted her to be but the girl who is so strong, so beautiful yet hurting so much. He sees through her façade, and likes what he sees, flaws and all. Because he has no doubt that he loves her.

'Yes. Especially now.'

She smiles that shy, coy smile that he has come to love.

* * *

><p>When they say their goodbyes, it takes him everything not to immediately start bawling his eyes out.<p>

When their daughter is taken away, he hugs her while she sobs into his shirt.

They can't really sleep that night.

* * *

><p>They try to make it work out.<p>

It lasts for a few weeks, but in the end, they reminded each other of her too much.

She tells him she needs a break, that she needs time to forget.

He agrees although it's killing him inside.

When he helps her move her things back to her mum's house, she thanks him. For everything.

He doesn't reply. Instead he kisses her, the girl that was only his for a short time.

She lets him.

* * *

><p>They don't really talk that year.<p>

They see each other constantly though because so many of their social activities are similar.

They're back to being just friends and he kids himself that he's fine with that.

When he comes back for juvenile detention, he hears that she's with the new blonde kid with the bad Justin Bieber haircut. He's not really surprised. He knows she wants her reputation back.

So he doesn't do anything to the kid, despite Artie betting Mike 20 dollars that Puck was going to 'take care' of Sam for messing with her.

He lets her do what she want. He does what he wants.

He tries to forget her. Dates a few random girls, then breaks up with them. It doesn't really mean anything to him.

She, on the other hand, cheats on Bieber and goes back to Finn.

He finds it funny, because it only proves that he was the only guy that she never cheated on. That makes him oddly happy for some reason.

Maybe it's because it shows that he actually meant something to her.

* * *

><p>Senior year, he gets the shock of his life when she walks through the hallways on the first day.<p>

Her hair is short and dyed pink and he can see a tattoo on her back. She smokes too.

She doesn't come to Glee anymore. She hangs out with the skanks under the bleachers.

He hears from San that she thinks that this is who she really is and all that bullshit. He scoffs, he knows what this really is about. She's broken, hurt and he was going to be the one to fix her.

Before he can even do anything, he finds out that Beth is back in town and Rachel's mum was working in McKinley.

He knows she wants to see Beth, so he convinces her to talk with Shelby.

They meet with her and surprise, surprise, Quinn goes and mess up.

Honestly, he's pissed. He's not going to let anyone stop him from seeing his baby girl so he follows Shelby back to her apartment. After making a convincing argument, she lets him in.

That's when he sees her for the first time since she was taken away.

He's in awe; she looks just like Quinn but she has his smile. He already know he loves her, that he would protect her from anything.

He promises to do anything to stay in her life. He knows that once Quinn saw her, she would stop acting out.

So he confronts her in the bathroom, says a few things he doesn't mean. He knows it's the only way to make her see sense.

And true enough, the next time he sees her, she cleans up her act. She looks like she's back to normal.

He tells her he's proud of her; he really is.

He doesn't expect her to tell him that she wants to get Beth back.

* * *

><p>He's had enough of her crazy schemes.<p>

She's going mad, plotting and scheming to take Beth back. He wants to get his baby back too but he knows it's not what's best for her.

He doesn't understand why she's doing this until one day, she reveals the truth to him.

'She's my perfect thing. So no matter what happens in the future, whether I never leave this town or accomplish anything worthwhile in my life, I'll have her to call mine.'

He realizes what this is all about. She was still so insecure, so damaged despite her image as the snow queen. People thought Quinn Fabray was a cold-hearted bitch with no feelings but he knew better.

He knows she's using him to get Beth back. He's mad.

Maybe that's why he kissed Shelby. He doesn't really know why.

All he knows is that he wants to be in Beth's life, and Quinn is messing everything up with her shenanigans.

He eventually tells Shelby the truth.

It all goes to hell from there.

* * *

><p>He's suspicious on what Quinn's motives are when she invites him over to her house.<p>

He finds it weird when she doesn't tell him to use protection when they start to fool around.

When she tells him she wants another baby, that's the last straw for him.

He's about to tell her off, when he sees the look in her eyes when she reassures herself that anyone would be want to be with her. He's kicking himself for not realizing how broken she is, how completely shattered she is.

No one cared about her enough to show it. Well, he's going to.

He tells her how strong she is, how good she is, how he's certain that if anyone got out of this crap town, it would be her. He tells her all these things, trying to make the hurt go away.

When she asks him to hold her, he doesn't hesistate. She's making herself so vulnerable to him that he can't help but tell her about him and Shelby. He tells her he was confused, lost, that it didn't mean anything to him.

He can feel that she's hurt, but heck she's hurt him too.

She falls asleep in his arms and he can't help feeling like that's the way it was suppose to be.

He breaks up with Shelby a few days later. He was fooling himself all along.

* * *

><p>Shelby resigns and leaves, taking Beth along with her. They got to say goodbye though.<p>

They don't get together but they are definitely on better terms then before.

He's so proud of her when she gets into Yale. He always knew she would be one to watch.

Things are alright for awhile until she had the accident.

He doesn't know how one person can have so much shit happen to them.

He visits her every day in the hospital when she was unconscious.

A few weeks later, she comes back in a wheelchair.

For some reason, they didn't hang out with each other much. He gives her the space she needs to recover. He offers to go with her to physical therapy, but she turns him down.

She starts hanging out with the new kid with the funky looking hair. He takes her to therapy now.

She eventually stands in front of everyone on the night of prom. He watches admiringly from afar, he knows she had it in her.

He has always known she was tough.

* * *

><p>He hates the fact that no matter how hard he tries, he still sucks at school. His teacher already warned him that he would not graduate if he didn't pass the test.<p>

He was grateful that she offered to help him but he knows he just isn't cut out for this. He's preparing to leave before she says the three words he always wanted to hear.

'I'm not doing this for a brownie patch, I'm doing this because I love you.'

That sentence is enough to stop him.

She kisses him. They spend the afternoon revising for the test.

She tells him she's proud of him when he finally passes.

When he finally graduates McKinley, his favourite girl is right by his side.

* * *

><p>They go on their separate ways; she to Yale and he to LA. He has no idea what he wants to do with his life, but he's got all the time in the world to try.<p>

They don't really keep in touch. She's always busy with assignments, and he's trying to make it big in Hollywood.

He thinks of her all the time. He just doesn't have the guts to chase her. By now, she's way out of his league.

The only time they meet is when Finn calls them back to Lima on Thanksgiving.

He's sipping on his drink in Breadsticks while listening to some story Mike is telling when she walks in.

Her hair is longer, she looks a bit tired but other than that, she looks beautiful as ever. He doesn't think he'll ever get tired of looking at her.

It's obvious to him that she's happy at Yale and he's genuinely happy for her. To him, no one deserves happiness more than Quinn Fabray.

That week in Lima, he toys with the idea of asking her to be with him.

He realizes that he has nothing to make her proud of. He has no ambition, no stable job. He was no good for her and she deserved so much better.

So after that week, he watches her glide out of his life as quickly as she glided in.

His mother always said, if you love someone, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were.

* * *

><p>Finn is dead.<p>

He is dead and Puck doesn't know how to feel. Numb, shocked…the list goes on.

He attends the funeral. She does too.

They don't speak to each other.

She doesn't come back for the Glee club's tribute to him.

Most of their friends don't understand why she didn't, but he understands.

He knows her as well as he knows himself.

* * *

><p>He decides to make something of himself by enlisting in the Air Force.<p>

He visits her the day before he leaves.

She's surprised to see him at her doorstep. She shows him around her campus.

He buys her dinner.

They don't speak about Finn, they don't need to.

He's leaving when she tells him to stay safe.

He replies by kissing her. She kisses back.

As he drives away, he can't help but watch her retreating form in the rear-view mirror.

* * *

><p>It was rough the first few months, but he has finally found his place in the Air Force.<p>

He finally has a purpose. He knows he's a better person, more confidant, more responsible, more disciplined.

Whenever he gets back from training, his mother would always suggest one or two ladies for him to go on a date with. He laughs, but always refuses. Eventually, she stops. He never told her why, but she understands when she finds an old picture of him and a certain blonde in one of the pockets of his uniform when she was cleaning it.

He always thinks about her. About what they could have been. About all the what ifs.

He knows he's an idiot for loving someone who he can't be with, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't forget her.

It was obvious to him, that his heart already belonged to her.

* * *

><p>Glee club is ending and all the ex-members are invited to return.<p>

He decides early that he doesn't want to go back. It hurt too much.

He soon changes his mind the minute he sees 'Quinn Fabray is going' on the event's Facebook page that Rachel set up.

* * *

><p>She looks stunning, as usual. Her boyfriend looked like the arrogant rich prick that he was.<p>

It scares him how much she reminded him of Judy Fabray.

It makes him angry when he finds out she hasn't told Biff about him, about Beth, about her past.

He confronts her by singing to her. A song which helped her get over those troubled times in those days.

She's crying. Apparently not because of him, but he knows he's part of the reason even though she denies it.

When she says she's in love with Biff, it's a stab to his heart but Quinn Fabray has ripped his heart into pieces more than once so he's numb to it.

When he overhears her telling Biff the truth, his heart leaps. He can't believe that she actually listened to him.

Suffice to say, he didn't feel guilty when he beat the jerk up and dumped him into the dumpster.

* * *

><p>He tells her he loves her.<p>

He asks her to tell him to stay.

He's just so tired of getting his heart torn, of not knowing where they stand. She's his soulmate, he's sure of it. He just needs to know if he's hers too.

She doesn't reply and he's sure that he'll always going to be that guy, the one who never gets the girl but spends his life hung up on her. And to be honest, he was okay with that. He would spend his life loving her from afar. Maybe she was never meant to be his.

_If you love someone, let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were._

He's leaving and never coming back again.

He doesn't know what to feel when he walks away from the locker room.

He doesn't know what to feel when he feels a hand touching his shoulder.

He doesn't know what to feel when she kisses him more passionately than she's ever done before.

But he knows what to feel when she tells him to stay.

That night, she tells him she loves him. Again and again. He says it back.

* * *

><p>This time when he leaves for the Air Force, he knows that she'll be waiting for him back home.<p> 


End file.
